Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $954,000 Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 22,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $954,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned about 0.05% of Brinker International as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Brinker International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 28,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 3,501 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total transaction of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.19.

Brinker International Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $47.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.23 and a twelve month high of $51.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.36.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 113.41%. Analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brinker International Profile

Brinker International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands.